Lake Abiquiu, NM to Sun Valley, AZ

2016/5/14

 

We were sad to leave Lake Abiquiu and its surrounding beauty, but like life, all good things come to an end.

Alan had reviewed the routes and decided upon the shorter, cross country route, rather than interstate. I was somewhat apprehensive about some of these roads, but decided it was a “suck it up princess” moment. Surprisingly, the roads were in good shape, better than either of us expected.


 



Upon departing Lake Abiquiu we headed west to Cuba on state road 96, taking us across the Abiquiu Dam and around the far side of the lake and into Cuba.

Crossing the Dam

We saw little traffic, and the road was reasonable, but narrow. Small farms and ranches dotted route 96.

Our chosen route was picturesque with another inspiring vista around each bend. I kept telling myself that I had enough pictures of these gorgeous views, clearly I could not help myself, snapping away furiously. 

Riana Campground on Lake Abiquiu is about 6500' in elevation and todays travels ranged upwards to just over 8000'. The old diesel was working hard , with some  black stacking as she chugged up some of those hills.

As our elevation increased, we noticed that the topography changed, and now we were seeing coniferous type forests. Obviously precipitation is much more prevalent at these higher elevations.

The landscape changed frequently as we approached the town of Cuba, and the end of Hwy 96. 

 

Indian Service Road # 9, Cuba to

Crownpoint, NM

 

 As we travelled Indian Service Road 9, the landscape became increasingly dusty and inhospitable. Small shanty type farms were sparsely  interspersed.

For the most part, there was a whole lot of nothing for miles and miles.

Once again, the wind was relentless, intensifying as the day progressed. With little traffic on Navajo route 9, having the road pretty much to ourselves was a bonus.











There was one gas station along the entire stretch of Indian Service Road 9.

 



The further we travelled, I was struck by what a travesty was committed, placing these Native Americans out on such barren and inhospitable lands.

We saw the occasional head of cattle and a few horses in makeshift corrals, or, just roaming and grazing alongside the edge of the road.



There were a couple of minor rough spots, and the road between Whitehorse and Crownpoint had a few “yahoo, ride em cowboy” heaves/dips. Other than that all was fine.

Crownpoint, NM was the end of Indian Service Road 9. There we intersected State Road 311, which took us 24 miles south to Thoreau, where we hooked up with Interstate 40.

We crossed the Continental Divide on Hwy 311.
Other than the sign, which I almost missed as we sped by, there was little of note.



 

Busy Interstate 40 was something else, as the wind gusts in Arizona blew us around. After constantly maneuvering the coach in the wind, Alan was happy to reach the Sun Valley RV Resort. A shoulder and neck massage was welcomed at the end of this travel day.

We will leave the coach here in Sun Valley for a few days while we head to Phoenix to meet up with a business partner for some meetings. If time permits, some retail therapy for me.